April 12, 2011 In art, communication, creativity, drawing, inspiration, intelligence, skill By Patricia Saxton

Stephen Wiltshire: Pure Genius

You may have heard of Stephen Wiltshire; he’s a London based artist renowned for his masterfully detailed drawings of cityscapes.

Stephen Wiltshire is autistic. He didn’t speak one word until he was 5 years old. His mind, however, is pure genius. His “disability”, as so often is the case, has provided an amazing gift.

Thanks to my friend Jai for sharing this with me… now it’s my pleasure to share it with you. If you view the video, I pretty much guarantee you’ll be awed.

For more on Stephen, his journey and incredible talent, go to: The Stephen Wiltshire Gallery.

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April 6, 2011 In children's books, creativity, work and play By Patricia Saxton

All in a Day's Work

So, I’m barreling along today, putting the final touches on a website, creating mastheads, writing copy, polishing a logo, scheduling meetings … and then I see this:

And I think, how fantastic! It’s from my talented publisher Mary, at Shenanigan Books. She’s very crafty, that one ~ in all the right ways.

She’s also started a new blog with features about the company’s growing flock of authors and illustrators, news about their books, happenings in the world of publishing, and a special Kid’s Page showcasing easy-to-do craft projects, ideas for young authors and illustrators, plus science and nature activities. Head on over now and you’ll find instructions for making a fairy house as beautiful as this one!

So even though writing this up added one more unexpected thing to my to-do list, it made my day. (Because as you surely know, I have a thing for fairies.) Hope it brightens yours as well!

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March 17, 2011 In art, branding, creativity, design, graphic design By Patricia Saxton

What's St. Patrick's Day Without Beer?

I’m not agreeing or disagreeing, except to say that it doesn’t have to be green to qualify. (in fact, yea … it’s better if it’s not.)

And so, to honor the day, the Irish, those who want to be Irish, and all who enjoy a good guzzling of design, I’ve pulled together some cool beer bottles to show. Labels are a great canvas for design creativity, and all of these fit the bill.

Feast your eyes on these ~ and have a safe and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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March 13, 2011 In art, creativity, design, inspiration By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P's / #12: "Prayer"

I had another “P” word ready for this week, but sometimes plans change. Things out of our control send us in another direction.

We’ve all been watching, living in, or at least are aware of what seems a world gone mad. It’s as though strife and wars and natural disasters have gone into warp speed. If you focus on it, it’s a bit terrifying. But we also have distractions… our lives to live, kids’ lunches to pack, dogs to walk, clothes to wash, deadlines that still need meeting … and while places like the Middle East and Japan and Haiti may visit our homes via satellite, it’s impossible, and not particularly useful, to remain in suspended disillusionment and grief.

At the same time, it’s kind of hard to write about say, typefaces, when you know that an hour north people’s homes are flooded, and an ocean away people are fighting for their lives.

And I can sit here and feel bad that there’s nothing I can do for those in need, a world away, facing unbelievable hardships. Maybe even feel guilty that I’ve just enjoyed a healthy meal and know that I’ll sleep in my own bed tonight. I can think that whatever I’m doing, even in writing this, is completely meaningless in light of catastrophic events. But these thoughts … don’t serve a purpose either.

I’m not a doctor or a diplomat, a scientist or a farmer. I don’t have wealth to send to those in need. But I can acknowledge. I can care. I can send up prayer.

I’ve never doubted that a higher power existed. I see and feel evidence of spirit everyday; not always in ways that can be described in factual detail…. and I suppose that has something to do with “faith”. Sometimes it’s a leap, and sometimes a simple step, a shift in thought. But 2 things are clear to me: prayer can be very powerful, and the world we live in sure needs a big dose.

I  wouldn’t pretend to prescribe how to pray, or to whom or what… but I feel that it can be a wish, a thought or an all out religious cantation. It can be drumming, chanting, song, dance. It can be meditation, or painting. However it occurs, and for however long (or briefly) it lasts, you feel it in your bones; your heart expands. At its most effective, it penetrates time and the mundane and becomes a state of consciousness in which you connect to divine energy… and there lies its power ~ accessible, I personally believe, to all who are willing to go there with good intentions.

Prayer is love, wrapped in hope; hope wrapped in love. It works in mysterious ways, and while it needn’t be reserved “for emergency only”, there are a lot of devastated people in the world right now in need of our prayers.

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March 7, 2011 In art, creativity, design, illustration, imagination, inspiration, words and language By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P's / #11: "Practical"

Measuring, cutting, hammering, nailing. Planning each step. Following through. Useful logic. …There’s a rhythm, and a rhyme, in being practical.

Sure, sometimes we want to throw caution to the wind and go full throttle on instinct, or feel the thrill of standing on the edge. We need to dream dreams. And everyone should dance in the rain at least a few times in life.

But when it gets right down to the nuts and bolts of living, it wouldn’t be very practical to, oh, let’s say, wash the dishes while jumping on a pogo-stick, or fix a hole in the roof with scotch tape. A book doesn’t get written just by thinking about it; food doesn’t cook itself… etc!

So three cheers to the predictable, marvelous dullness of being practical. Three cheers for methods to madness, for light bulbs with proper wattage, and sensible shoes in a bramble patch.

Applause for practical thinking ~ a practically perfect tool!

 

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March 5, 2011 In art, creativity, drawing, illustration, imagination, inspiration, skill By Patricia Saxton

Some Thoughts on Illustration

© Patricia Saxton

Maybe because I’m in the thralls of illustrating another book, or maybe because of a letter I recently received from a Savannah College of Art student  .. or maybe that combined with the Teen Arts Show I critiqued last night… or maybe, it’s just me and that thoughts of illustration are never far off and it seems a good time to say a few things.

So here we go.

Illustration is about illustrating. No kidding, you say. But unless you’re talking about technical illustration, or maybe medical illustration (although, to be fair, even within these more structured realms you’ll find varying degrees of expression) illustration is really about the illustrating of ideas.

It’s not about drawing or painting, tools, colors or style. These have a gigantic impact ~ but alone, they do not tell the story.

In the old days, to illustrate literally meant “to illuminate”.  I like to think of illustrating as a creating a visual voice. So, while drawing may be the most common foundation, illustrations need to say something. Explain. Expound. Express. Something pertinent.

I spent countless hours of my youth drawing. Everything in sight. I knew I had “talent”, but didn’t think I was “creative”. Give me a toaster and I’d draw the best damn toaster you’d ever seen. But could I make the toaster clever? Could I make it intriguing, or would it just be a fine toaster? I had doubts.

Then one day the veil broke. Or maybe it was a dam. Either way, I passed through “ability” into a place where creativity flowed more freely.

It might work the other way around for some people, but however we get there, an illustrator needs to a.) think conceptually and b.) have command of their style(s) so that their work exhibits a steady, reliable quality.

A sense of design is also marvelously valuable (how will an illustration look on a page in relation to text and/or other elements?).

Being dependable and trustworthy is another handy trait, especially if one wants repeat work.

And then, you need to pack a sense of humor in your bag ~ not necessarily towards the art itself (unless meant to be funny), but towards the process… because things happen, people happen, emotions happen, mistakes happen. Half of life (if not more) is attitude.

Now for the show… Just a handful of some well-known (and fantastic) illustrators who’ve consistently made great work, paved the way, inspired others, touched lives and even earned a living doing so.

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February 10, 2011 In animation, art, communication, creativity, drawing, illustration, inspiration, presentation By Patricia Saxton

Daniel Pink's Ideas on Motivation, (literally) Illustrated

A Whole New Mind author Dan Pink has another fascinating book out called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. If it’s as compelling a read as A Whole New Mind, we’re in for a treat.

Based on Pink’s research on science and motivation, originally presented in a TED talk (always worth watching), the illustrated video below is a pretty inspiring treat itself.

I’ll reserve judgment on the content (it sounds good, and some of it makes huge sense…), except to say that it’s thought-provoking and fantastically presented.

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February 8, 2011 In art, books & stuff, creativity, design By Patricia Saxton

Googling Jules Verne

Every once in a while Google has some fun with its logo treatment. Today’s marine scene caught my eye (were there Mermaids swimming inside the double “o”‘s?), so I did a little deeper-sea exploration.

The design ~ which is interactive, by the way (the “joystick” lets you move the sea and its creatures around … such power!) ~ honors the birthday of prolific French author Jules Verne (February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905). Verne is best known for “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

A click on their logo takes you to a Google search page all about Jules Verne. A very clever way to say Happy Birthday to one of the literary greats.

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February 7, 2011 In appreciation, art, creativity, design By Patricia Saxton

A Plethora of P's / #7: "Patience"

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” ~ Winnie the Pooh

Time. The great illusionist. Ticks slowly when we want something to happen; the fast-forward button gets pressed when we’ve got someplace to be.

Time seems to move faster and faster; like it’s in a race. (The great rat-race?) The world’s in such a hurry.

I grew up hearing that “Patience is a virtue”, and I think that’s true. But it’s more than a display of fine character. Exercising patience allows things to unfold more gracefully, in their own right time. And it’s a challenge!

Patience is about what we can tolerate before blowing a personal fuse. It tests us in many forms ~ patience towards self, patience towards others, towards listening, towards learning, towards a menial task, towards traffic jams, towards time …  Wouldn’t it feel good if we could toss the accompanying irritation out the window? Have it vanish in thin air and just “go with the flow”? Easier said than done ~ but possible, if we re-calibrate our thoughts.

We come into this world packaged with personality intact, “strengths and weaknesses” already flowing through our veins, inborn traits determining whether we have more or less of this or that characteristic.

That doesn’t mean, though, that someone born with an impatient nature can’t develop greater degrees of patience ~ not necessarily reaching levels of saintliness, but we are ever-growing, learning, changing beings who can and do evolve and enhance our existence by stretching, expanding and nurturing the various aspects of our inherent nature. Patience is one well worth the effort. Think about it …

Feeling impatient can be such a maddening, aggravating, blood-pressure-rising experience, the solution might seem to be to hurry through it, be done with it. But we all know that doesn’t work …  it doesn’t make the traffic light turn green, it doesn’t make the baby stop crying, it doesn’t make the pot boil, it doesn’t make the flower grow, it doesn’t erase a mistake you might have made; it only lets you experience impatience.

So maybe we can’t make grapes ripen faster on the vine… and if we harvest them too soon, we end up with sour grapes. (And I’m pretty sure that creating sour grapes isn’t on anyone’s bucket list.)

But we can, instead, think patient anticipation. We can shift our focus to eagerness. Patience then is not a passive burden but steps that light up the path.

A wonderful thing happens when you take a few deep breaths and mindfully infuse patience: resistance backs off.  You can be present. You can even begin to enjoy and participate in the unfolding.

Maybe we should heed the line from the old Simon & Garfunkel song, “slow down, you move too fast,  you got to make the morning last …”. Because when we don’t, we don’t feel so “groovy”.

The river doesn’t ask “are we there yet?”. Like the river, we’ll all get where we’re going.

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